Heartbroken motorcyclist leaves massive trophy at soldier's grave after finishing race they dreamed of winning together

It was a bitter sweet moment for New Cumnock’s Scott Murray, 33, who picked the cup at Knockhill after coming first place in the Scottish Championships, without his best pal Jamie Alderton.

Jamie had suffered from PTSD and mental health problems before dying last year, leaving best pals Scott and Auchinleck’s Ally Hodge, 29, to race without him for the first time.

But determined to keep their team JAM together Scott and Ally stuck Combat Stress stickers on their motorcycles to let Jamie ride with them in the national contest.

They faced rain, wind, hailstones, and even thunder during the three day event but despite the wild weather Scott shot ahead and scooped the win for the very first race.

The emotional victory earned him a huge gold trophy but Scott knew it wasn’t destined to sit on his mantle piece, but instead beside Jamie’s Gravestone at Cumnock cemetery.

He said: “It was really awesome to get the trophy I couldn’t believe it. Although I didn’t really have time to soak it in because I was straight back out for my next race.

“But it was really emotional racing without Jamie.

“I just felt the win was really for him, he was in my thoughts the entire weekend and I wouldn’t even be doing the racing without him.

“We had always spoke about doing it together and I want to keep him part of our wee team.”

Being an army man himself Scott can sadly relate wellto the PTSD issues that haunted Jamie before his death.

He added: “As ex-soldiers we just bonded right away he was like a brother to me.

“We started racing the motorbikes together because it gave us the same adrenaline the army did, there’s really nothing like it.

“That buzz is hard to come by you don’t get it anywhere else which is hard to explain to others but we just understood that.

“We got stickers made up for Combat Stress to take him with us on the ride because we want to raise awareness of what he went through with his PTSD.”

Scott wasn’t the only one missing best pal Jamie as their other team mate Ally felt the sting of competing without him.

Although Ally had never served in the military he had been given just two days to live after developing a serious bowel disease.

He was given emergency surgery and a second chance at life leaving him desperate to make it count.

It means he now chases the same adrenaline Scott and Jamie enjoyed through motorcycles.

He amazingly came fifth in one of the races dur ing severely heavy rain against around 29 other motorcyclists.

There was even a moment of terror when he crashed during a race leaving the crowd on the edge of their seats.

Ally said: “When you are racing you are just full of adrenaline and all you think about is trying to take over that next person.

“I crashed my bike on Sunday after colliding with another rider and hurt my shoulder slightly but nothing major.

“My wife was worried but as soon as I crashed she ran down and gave me a cuddle to make sure I was okay and that definitely helped.”

But despite the crash the most painful part of the weekend was not racing beside soldier hero Jamie.

Ally added: “It was really sad racing without Jamie and getting used to him not being there, with it being our first proper race without him so was pretty emotional.

“He would always have a laugh and was great to be around, he was really missed during the competition.

“We kept our Colostomy UK and Combat Stress stickers on the bikes to keep him with us and raise awareness for issues important to us.

“It was a passion for the three of us and to take it as far as we can is the dream.

“He wouldn’t want us to be sad and give up, that wasn’t who he was. He was a really happy go lucky guy so he would be cheering us on.”

Robert Marsh, Director of Fundraising at Combat Stress, said: “Veterans wait on average 13 years after leaving the military before seeking help from Combat Stress for mental health problems.

“We know there are more veterans out there struggling in silence. We strongly encourage them or their loved ones to call our 24-hour helpline on 0800 138 1619.”